Artist creates photo-realistic works
The art that i create and the pictures that draw is of real people doing real things.
TECHNOLOGICAL innovations have resulted in changes in the way art is created and presented. Nowadays, with the sophistication in cellphones you can take a quick selfie and convert that into pencil sketch or painting, whatever your heart desires. But to art purists, who still insist on absolute adherence to traditional rules of using a pencil to draw or paint brush to paint, Umbilo resident Richard Chakwizira is the man for the job. Chakwizira creates photo-realistic drawings, translating photos into art with his pencil.
“A friend recently said to me that with his phone he was able to take a photo and convert that photo into a great art work. Well, as much as that statement has some truth in it, I believe there are still a lot people interested in the old way of drawing a picture. I think a great work of art appreciates and its value goes up every time.The art that I create and the pictures that I draw are of real people doing real things, depicting their surroundings and the social way of living. I have a passion for art and helping the poor,” said Chakwizira.
Chakwizira has worked with different organisations in Durban and also used to teach art classes at the BAT centre. “Back in 2008 when I was living in the Free State I developed a passion for sharing and imparting my God-given skills, and started going to various schools, teaching the children there how to draw using different mediums, for free. I got featured in many local newspapers that time and it also gave me an opportunity to travel,” he said.
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While there’s one school of thought that believes that artists are born with their talent and that they enter this world with a unique ability to express the seen and even the unseen through visual art. Chakwizira says he also believes that artists are born and not made but need an education or training to nurture that talent.
“I have been doing art since birth but I started doing it professionally in 1990. It was a talent nurtured through school, even though my parents wanted me to do an electrical course. I could not defy my parents’wishes so I enrolled for an electrical course, but the love of art drove me to enroll for an art course. I have done art illustration for books, I have exhibited both commercial and contemporary art in galleries both in Zimbabwe and South Africa,” he said.
The artist who recently was blessed with a child, says he hopes his children might follow in his footsteps as an artists but believes that his baby girl might be the one to continue with his legacy.
Chakwizira specializes in portraiture’s for families or individuals and his live sketches take up to ten minutes to complete. He works with water colour and pencil sketches.
“I also conduct art lessons for beginners and those who want to polish their skills. I am planning on converting the current space I am working on into an art institution,” he said.
Richard Chakwiziria’s work can be also be viewed on Facebook under RichArt or you can contact him on 078 244 8607/074 040 0939 or at rchakwizira1@gmail.com.
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